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Following is a question by Dr Hon Lau Wong-fat and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (October 16):
Question:
It has been learnt that when contractors of the Government carry out extension or maintenance works of expressways, plastic water barriers are often used to divide the lanes, and a large quantity of water has to be consumed to fill up those water barriers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has required such works contractors to:
(a) handle the water barriers properly upon completion of the works, and not to dispose of them casually or send them to landfills for disposal;
(b) hand over damaged water barriers to recyclers for recovery and recycling; and
(c) use only water sources other than potable water (such as river water) to fill the water barriers?
Reply:
President,
During road widening, improvement and maintenance, the Government will, for the sake of road safety, provide barriers for delineation of temporary lanes and protection of work sites. Barrier assembly and individual components must be designed to appropriate international standards, taking into account road conditions such as the speed of passing vehicles. These barriers are also required to be capable of resisting the impact of colliding vehicles, thus minimising any possible damage and injuries to road works personnel, drivers, passengers and other road users in case of accidents.
As indicated by overseas and local experience, plastic water-filled barriers are easy to install and remove. They are suitable for use as barriers in temporary traffic arrangements during road works given their conformity with relevant requirements and high manoeuvrability. Therefore, the Government has developed guidelines stipulating specifications for water-filled barriers in respect of their height, colour and retro-reflectivity as well as the provision of night-time warning lanterns to ensure road safety.
Our reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(a) Water-filled barriers are works equipment owned by the contractors. The Government does not prescribe on their handling of these barriers after completion of works. Since water-filled barriers are designed for subsequent reuse and their acquisition incurs certain costs, the contractors will usually keep them after completion of works for use in other projects instead of disposing of them casually.
(b) Water-filled barriers are often made of recyclable plastic materials. If damaged, they can be recovered for recycling.
The Government has all along been encouraging the industry to minimise generation of construction and demolition (C&D) materials and to recover these materials for recycling. For a public works contract worth $20 million or more, the contractor concerned is required to prepare an Environmental Management Plan, stipulating that sorting of C&D materials has to be carried out on site and recovery of recyclable materials be arranged. In addition, the Plastic Resources Recycling Centre set up by the Government at the EcoPark in Tuen Mun collects various kinds of waste plastics including damaged water-filled barriers for recycling.
(c) No special requirements have been specified by the Government regarding the water sources for water-filled barriers. That said, the construction industry is encouraged to reuse water resources in site operations as far as possible.
Ends/Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:00
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